Though positive survey answers increased consistently on average, digital boundaries and emotional health are top of mind for CBE officials.
Students’ ability to share feelings and limit screen time were among the most notable areas for growth from the emotional and physical health sections of the 2024-25 CBE Student Survey.
As presented during the April 7 Calgary Board of Education (CBE) Board of Trustees meeting, overall agreement, or positive answers to survey questions, for emotional health rose to 70.3 per cent in 2024-25, up 2.4 percentage points from 2023-24 and the highest level recorded in the past five years.
Improvement in agreement was seen across every grade level participating in the survey. High school grades, most notably Grade 11, have seen major agreement increases since 2021-22, according to the meeting’s agenda.
CBE Superintendent Jennifer Turner noted that questions surrounding sharing feelings were among the section’s lowest agreement items, particularly among Grade 8 and 9 students.
“This aligns very closely with what we know about early adolescence. Middle school students are navigating rapid social change, heightened self-consciousness, and an increased sensitivity to peer perception,” she said during the meeting.
“Emotional expression is very complex at this time, as the importance of peer perception grows due to the natural developmental process seen in early adolescence.”
Turner said that social-emotional learning is embedded into classroom practices, with increased attention to psychological safety, help seeking strategies, and relationship building.
“In addition, the CBE has invested in the Middle School Well-Being Strategy and the middle school and high school well being symposiums, which bring school teams together to examine their own student survey data, listen to student perspectives and collaborate with members of their school team and administration, and develop school specific well being action plans that are responsive to student experiences,” she said.
Screen time is a complex issue: CBE officials
Turner said that as students are developing socially and emotionally in the classroom, they are also doing so digitally.
“Online environments play a powerful role in shaping how our students see themselves and see others. These spaces are often curated and filtered, which can make authentic connections and authentic sharing more difficult. This context is important as we interpret emotional health data,” she said.
As for physical health, overall agreement for the physical health section increased to 69.9 per cent, the strongest results in five years.
“Students reported improvements in regular exercise, healthy eating and sleep. However, one area continues to stand out, only 48.5 per cent of students report feeling they can regulate their screen time,” CBE Superintendent Mike Nelson said during the meeting.
“While this has improved year over year, it remains the lowest agreement item within physical health. This is not simply about physical habits; screens often play a central role in social development, particularly during adolescence. Devices are often how students connect, communicate, and maybe even belong.”
Because of the tension between technology’s benefits and challenges, many students have a complex relationship with screen time, according to Nelson. Devices used almost daily for in-class learning are very similar to the personal devices students are expected to put away for the day.
“Screen time is not treated as a simple compliance issue, but as a learning and a well-being issue. We are strengthening digital citizenship with explicit attention to well-being, embedding algorithmic literacy and supporting educators through professional learning that aligns technology use with healthy development,” Nelson said.
CBE-wide goals include teaching students how and when to use technology, both in and out of school.
“We know that meaningful changes take time. Behaviour shifts occur alongside understanding, maturity, and support. As a result, this is a major focus for next year’s reporting, trustees will see a more complete picture of how technology fluency, physical health and emotional well-being intersect,” Nelson said.
“Our goal is to help students use technology intentionally, understand its influence, and develop the confidence to set boundaries that support their overall well-being. These results show a system that is paying close attention, not only to what students are achieving, but to how they are developing as learners and as people.”
By Kaiden Brayshaw, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Apr 09, 2026 at 12:53
Recent Comments